Role Summary and Impact

A role exists for an experienced Business Director who can operate equally across digital strategy and hands-on delivery leadership. This is a senior, cross-channel role anchored across global energy and consumer mobility and destination and investment marketing, with the expectation that the successful candidate will extend their remit across other accounts within the broader portfolio as the team and business requires.

The Business Director will hold senior commercial and operational responsibility across their portfolio — owning client relationships at the most senior level, leading and developing a mixed onshore and offshore team, and taking accountability for both the strategic quality and delivery performance of digital activity across all assigned accounts. This is not a purely strategic role, nor a purely operational one. The expectation is that the successful candidate brings the depth to set direction and the rigour to ensure it is executed to the highest standard.

The portfolio spans accounts with varying objectives, audience profiles and digital maturity — from always-on biddable programmes at global scale to newly established client engagements requiring senior leadership from the ground up. The ability to adapt quickly between contexts, maintain commercial clarity across a complex mix of scopes, and develop a high-performing team across all of them is central to the role.

Skills and Experience

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate will be a senior digital leader who has built their career across both strategy and delivery — someone who is as comfortable developing a cross-channel framework for a complex global client as they are reviewing campaign performance, managing a P&L or developing a junior team member. They will have a track record of owning meaningful client relationships at Director level and above, driving commercial growth within an existing portfolio, and contributing substantively to new business.

They will bring genuine cross-channel expertise across Paid Search, Paid Social and Programmatic, with the depth to guide specialist teams, challenge their thinking and connect channel activity into integrated strategies that deliver against business objectives. They will be as comfortable in a senior client meeting as in a team planning session, and will bring the commercial instinct to identify and act on growth opportunities within and beyond their portfolio.

They will be an inspiring team leader — someone who sets high standards, develops people with intent and creates an environment where the team around them grows. They will bring the energy and resilience to manage a varied, demanding portfolio without losing sight of quality, and the commercial maturity to operate with a degree of independence while keeping senior leadership appropriately informed.

Responsibilities

Delivering Client Performance

• Hold senior accountability for digital output across all assigned accounts — ensuring strategic quality, delivery performance and client satisfaction across the portfolio
• Act as the primary senior contact for client stakeholders at Director level and above — owning the relationship, managing expectations and proactively developing the partnership
• Develop and own integrated digital strategies for each account — setting direction across channels, leading planning processes and ensuring recommendations are grounded in data, insight and commercial logic
• Maintain oversight of all active campaign delivery — reviewing performance, challenging the team's thinking and ensuring the highest standards of execution and optimisation
• Lead senior client communications including QBRs, strategic reviews and escalation management — bringing clarity, confidence and creative thinking to every interaction
• Stay ahead of industry and platform developments and bring relevant innovation to clients in a timely and commercially relevant way

Commercial & Financial Management

• Own the soft P&L across the client portfolio — maintaining awareness of revenue, profitability, resource allocation and scope utilisation at all times
• Identify and pursue opportunities to grow revenue within existing accounts — through incremental investment, new channel adoption, additional services and expanded scope
• Ensure all financial processes are adhered to across the team — including budget management, PO tracking, invoicing, reconciliations and accurate monthly reporting to senior leadership
• Monitor and manage scope across all active SOWs — flagging out-of-scope activity promptly and commercially, and working with client leads to formalise incremental revenue where appropriate
• Support and contribute to new business pitches and organic growth initiatives across the wider Channels & Solutions team

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, develop and inspire a mixed onshore and offshore team — setting clear objectives, maintaining high standards and creating a culture of accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement
• Hold regular development conversations with direct reports — maintaining updated development plans, supporting progression and addressing performance issues in a timely and constructive way
• Play an active role in recruitment and onboarding across the team — making good hiring decisions and ensuring new starters are set up for success from day one
• Support the wider Channels & Solutions leadership team on talent planning, team structure and capability development

Driving Process & Efficiency

• Develop and implement ways of working that enable the team to deliver consistently excellent output without unnecessary friction — across briefing, planning, campaign management and reporting
• Identify and drive process improvements across the team — including automation, technology adoption and workflow optimisation
• Ensure that best-practice standards are consistently applied across all accounts and that the team is equipped with the knowledge and tools to maintain them

Raising Our Profile

• Develop and share opinion pieces related to the digital and biddable landscape — contributing to Mindshare's internal knowledge base and external reputation
• Contribute to relevant industry events, awards submissions and case study development — surfacing the team's best work and ensuring it is recognised appropriately
• Build and maintain relationships with key media partners and platform representatives, staying current on innovation and commercial opportunity

Essential Criteria

Strategic & Channel Leadership

• Demonstrable cross-channel digital expertise spanning Paid Search, Paid Social and Programmatic — with the depth to provide strategic direction across all three and the breadth to connect them into integrated, audience-led digital strategies
• Proven ability to develop and own digital strategies for complex, multi-objective client accounts — covering channel planning, audience development, measurement frameworks and test-and-learn roadmaps
• Experience integrating digital channel strategy with broader media and business planning — including working knowledge of how paid digital interacts with organic, content, data and analytics to drive business outcomes
• Understanding of how to adapt digital strategy to different client types — including both performance-led and brand-building objectives, and both B2C and B2B audience environments
• Familiarity with the strategic and operational requirements of always-on campaigns alongside burst/campaign-led activity at significant media investment levels

Senior Client & Commercial Management

• Proven track record of owning and developing senior client relationships, including independent engagement at Director and C-suite level — across both day-to-day delivery and longer-term strategic partnership development
• Commercial acumen and soft P&L ownership experience — including revenue forecasting, scope management, upsell and cross-sell identification, and the ability to present financial performance clearly to internal and external stakeholders
• Experience managing and expanding client revenue — identifying incremental opportunities, building commercial proposals and navigating client-side procurement or budget processes
• Comfort operating across clients with varied governance, complexity and maturity levels — adapting approach, pace and commercial strategy accordingly
• Experience supporting or leading new business pitches, contributing credentials, strategic thinking and relevant case studies to winning work

Team Leadership & Development

• Significant experience leading, managing and developing multi-disciplinary digital teams, including Account Directors, Account Managers and Account Executives
• Experience managing onshore and offshore delivery teams, with an understanding of how to structure cross-geography operations for quality, efficiency and team cohesion
• A track record of talent development — setting clear expectations, running structured development conversations, identifying and progressing high-potential individuals, and managing performance where required
• Strong people instincts — able to recruit well, build team culture and retain talent in a competitive market

Delivery Excellence & Process

• Rigorous approach to delivery quality — able to set and uphold best-practice standards across campaign setup, optimisation, reporting and QA across a multi-client portfolio
• Experience developing and implementing efficient ways of working — including briefing processes, workflow management, finance and budget controls, and cross-team coordination
• Familiarity with the technology landscape relevant to biddable media — including ad technology, automation, attribution and measurement tools — and the ability to deploy these effectively in client recommendations and internal process
• Strong financial and commercial process management — including PO and invoice oversight, reconciliations, scope monitoring and escalation of out-of-scope requests

Communication & Thought Leadership

• Excellent communication skills — able to present complex digital strategy clearly and confidently to senior audiences, and to write with precision and authority for both client-facing and internal purposes
• A genuine perspective on the digital landscape — able to develop and share opinion pieces, contribute to industry events, and represent Mindshare credibly as a senior voice in the market
• Strong internal networker — able to build productive relationships across client leadership, channel specialists, analytics, data and creative teams within the agency and wider WPP network

Desirable Criteria

• Experience managing portfolios spanning multiple industry verticals simultaneously
• Background in or familiarity with performance-oriented, always-on biddable programmes at significant media investment scale
• Experience of new client onboarding and rapid account setup in a time-pressured environment
• Familiarity with destination marketing, public sector or civic brand environments
• Multi-market EMEA experience
• New business pitch leadership experience
• Formal P&L ownership within a media agency or similar commercial structure

Life at WPP Media & Benefits

Our passion for shaping the next era of media is powered by our commitment to Be Extraordinary, investing in our employees to inspire transformational creativity. We also Lead Optimistically, firmly believing in and Championing Growth and Development for every individual. This commitment allows WPP Media employees to leverage the extensive global WPP Media & WPP networks to pursue their passions, build vital professional connections, and learn at the cutting edge of marketing and advertising.

We Create an Open environment built on trust and respect, where everyone feels they belong and has opportunities to progress. This inclusive culture is fostered through a variety of employee resource groups and frequent in-office events showcasing team wins, sharing thought leadership, and celebrating holidays and milestone events. Our comprehensive benefits package reflects this commitment, including competitive medical, group retirement plans, vision, and dental insurance, significant paid time off, preferential partner discounts, and employee mental health awareness days.

WPP Media is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to characteristics. We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection in this open and supportive environment. That's why we've adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

Please note this is a UK-based role and requires individuals to have the right to work in this location.

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While we appreciate all applications received, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Job code: 2809